The Other One
by Seddielover945
Summary: There was a time when they were simple, a time before high school, before his only sole purpose was to make her blood boil. Before he craved blood. DE AU/AH
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own The Vampire Diaries, all rights go to L.J. Smith and The CW. I have the next chapter prewritten and I will be focusing more on this story after I finish _Dreams, _which only has a chapter or two till the end. **

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Elena Gilbert shut her locker door with a _slam! _As she turned around, she placed her hand over her heart in fear. Her eyes narrowed in the raven colored man who stood in front of her. Her back was pressed up against her locker door.

"Damon," She hissed through clenched teeth.

"_Elena," _He said with a loop sided smile on her lips, his per icing blue eyes shone down on her.

She rolled her eyes as she attempted to push past him. "I'm not in the mood for _this_,"

Elena ducked under his arm and walked away from her locker just as the final bell rang. She walked through the double doors at the end of the hall and spotted Bonnie. A small smile spread on her face as she walked over to her best friend.

"I saw you talking to Damon. What was that about?"

Elena rolled her brown eyes. "Talking? More like he attacked me," She bit her lip a little as Bonnie simply nodded. "Okay, moving on, have you seen Caroline?"

"No, she's probably waiting by my car already. Come on, let's go," Elena nodded as she followed Bonnie to her car.

She was really thankful that Bonnie hadn't pushed the _Damon _subject.

The relationship between herself and Damon hadn't always been a complicated one. They had lived next door to each other all of Elena's life. He had a brother, Stefan, who was Elena's age. She had always had a _small _crush on Stefan, but it wasn't like her relationship with his brother.

From when they were small, to the first start of ninth grade they were inseparable. When they entered high school, they seemed to go their separate ways. Damon was drawn in by all the 'cool kids' and Elena was drawn in by Bonnie and Caroline. Elena realized something.

Damon had changed.

His ego seemed to grow and he was more sarcastic then he used to be. He dated _a lot _of girls. Now days, he seemed to know how to get in her biggest nerve, more then usual and annoy the _heck _out of her.

"Elena? Elena are you okay?" Caroline's voice drug her out of her daze and she turned to look the blonde in the face, giving her a small nod.

"Yeah I'm fine, let's just go okay?" She slid into the backseat of Bonnie's car. As they eased out of the parking lot a blue convertible pulled in front of them; which blocked Bonnie's car.

Elena looked out the window to see the blue car. The same car set in the driveway next to hers. Damon. A smirk rested on his lips as he pulled his Ray bans down to the tip of his nose so his blue eyes could show. Even through the window, their eyes locked. For a moment she saw into those blue orbs that she had looked at _forever_ and she struggled to break the gaze. When she finally looked away, he drove off so their car could pull away.

"Okay what the _heck _was that?" Caroline looked in the mirror so she could catch a glimpse of Elena's face.

"What?" Elena looked up trying not to meet Caroline's blue eyed gaze on her.

"Don't give me that!" The blonde squeaked at she threw her arms up in the air. "_That! _The all knowing look that was shared between the two of you! I know you _were _friends with the guy once, but trust me, he's changed Elena, into an all time _jerk!"_

Elena didn't respond to her as they pulled up to her driveway. "Thanks Bon, I'll see you later," She shut the door as Bonnie waved slightly and drove away. Elena slowly walked up to her front door just as she heard a car door slam. Next door to be exact.

She couldn't help, but look over her shoulder to see who it was.

Damon. Of course it had to be him, did the universe hate her?

She flipped her hair over one of her shoulders as she jammed her key in the lock and opened the door to her house.

"Mom?" She called into the kitchen as she placed her backpack on the couch in the living room.

"In here sweetie!' Her mother,Miranda, answered as Elena slipped into the kitchen. "how was school?"

Elena pressed her lips into a fine line, "boring, and stupid,"

She chewed on her bottom lip as she watched her mother continue to cook dinner. Her mind occasionally wondering to what Caroline had told her earlier about her and Damon. Yes, she knew that it was true, but she tried to block it all out as she mentioned that she was going to her room to do her homework.

Once upstairs she flung herself onto her bed and scattered her school books out in front of her. Her eyes glanced over to her bedroom window to the house next to hers. Her brown eyes focused in in the room which was directly across from hers. The room that she remembered so well. It almost felt like it had been a whole lifetime since she had seen it with her own eyes. When in truth it had only been about the first few days before school her freshman year.

Two years ago.

She ran her fingers through her brown hair and tried to push out her thoughts of Damon or any of the Salvatore family. She turned to look at the chemistry textbook in her lap and grabbed a pen.

She needed to forget about _him._

* * *

"Are you sure that you want us to come get you?" Elena's mother asked through the phone.

"I'm sure," Elena sighed as she pushed her hair out of her eyes. "Besides Matt's half drunk and we had a fight.." She trailed off as her mother started to speak again.

"You two will work it out, we will be there soon, okay?" Elena nodded to herself as she shoved her cell phone back into her pocket.

Maybe her mom was right. She and Matt had _always _been good friends, but most of the time felt like that's the only thing they were. Good friends. They had started dating at the end of the summer. She hoped that she could break up with him and they would still be good friends.

She felt the breath of a person on the back of her neck and quickly spun around. Her look of shock soon turned into a look of pure annoyance. "What do you want Damon?" She crossed her arms over her chest as she starred him down.

He was _sober. _It was good sign.

"Figured you would be drunk out of your mind by now," Her gaze narrowed.

Damon chuckled. "I don't _always _like to get drunk you know,"

She didn't reply

"So what are you doing out here by yourself?"

"If you must know I'm waiting for my parents to come and get me?" She hugged her arms to her body as she spoke.

"You not having a good time 'Lena?" His face was suddenly so close that she could feel him breathing. She flinched at the old nickname that she hadn't heard since freshman year, but quickly brushed it off. "What did you and little old Matt have a fight?"

"It's none of your business," She hissed.

"Come on, you can trust me, I won't tell a sole,"

"Somehow I find that kind of hard to believe," She avoided his eyes, or tried to until her grabbed her chin with his fingers and propped it up so she was looking right into his eyes.

It all came flying back to her, all those memories, and brushed his hand away. She turned to her back was facing him and started to walk away.

"You know!" He called after her, "I would have taken you home! All you had to do was ask!"

She stopped on her heel and turned around. "Damon Salvatore? Leave a _party?" _

He shrugged. "People change,"

Elena nodded, her face went hard. "Yeah, they do,"

Damon didn't say anything else as her parents car pulled up and she slid into the back seat. Her father pulled away and she refused to look at Damon as they did.

"Was it really that bad?" Her Father questioned as he took his eyes off the road to look at her.

Elena didn't as she looked back up at her father. "LOOK OUT!" She screamed as her dad looked back to the road as she surved the car to avoid hitting a deer.

She didn't remember anything else as the car went off of the bridge and into the dark water below.

_Darkness. _

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**Reviews are love. **


	2. Chapter 2

"Damon stop it!" Elena giggled as he wrapped his arms around her waist and tickled her sides. She felt her knees go weak from all the laughing, but Damon wasn't about to let her drop to the floor.

"Oh come on 'Lena, you know you love it," His breath felt warm in her head as he placed his lips on the side of her head. Elena shook her head, but the laughing didn't quit. She pushed his arms off of her.

"Shut up!" She hissed playfully as she fell back on Damon's bed with a small sigh. He sat down next to her as she stared up at the ceiling. Neither of them spoke for a while until Elena turned on her side to face him.

"What are you thinking about?" He questioned as he noticed the small smile on her lips. He propped his hand under his head and gently played with her long, brown hair with the other.

"Maybe the fact that summer's almost over. We start _high school _on Monday Damon," A small frown grazed her lips. "and I think I'm scared."

He moved a bit closer to her, his lips near her ear again, "Elena trust me, you will do fine. We will do fine. You do trust me right?"

She didn't hesitate, "You know I trust you,"

"Good," He smiled.

"Damon?"

He lifted his eyes to meet her, "Yeah 'Lena?"

"I'm really glad your here," She rolled her head so that it rested on his shoulder.

"Yeah, me too,"

* * *

"Elena?"

_"Elena, please wake up?" _

Elena took a deep breath. "Damon?"

"No sweetie, it's Jenna," Jenna, her aunt Jenna.

Her eyes fluttered open. She found herself in a white room with tubes and her aunt gazed down at her with a worried expression on her face. "Aunt Jenna, what are you doing here? What's wrong? What happened?" She quickly pushed the memory of her and Damon out of her head. Her hand shot up to rub her eyes and she glanced around the room. "Where am I?"

"Elena, honey there was an accident, you're in the hospital," She nodded softly to show that she understood. Her mind felt fuzzy and her vision was a bit blurred.

Jenna opened her mouth to speak again, but a voice from the doorway broke her off. "OH ELENA THANK GOD YOUR OKAY!" Caroline's high pitched squeal filled the room and Elena's gaze flickered to Caroline who stood in the doorway, and Bonnie who looked like she was trying to hold the blonde back.

"Bon, it's okay, you guys can come in. I feel fine," The last part was a lie, she couldn't really remember what had happened, but she knew how persistent Caroline was. Before she could comprehend what was happening, the blonde engulfed her into a large bear hug. It lasted about a good fifteen seconds before she pulled away from Elena.

"Elena why is _Damon Salvatore _in the waiting room?" Caroline's brows rose in confusion and a breath caught in Elena's throat. Damon. He was there.

"Send him in okay?" Caroline looked at the brown harried with shock written over her eyes, but she nodded as she pulled Bonnie out of the room with her. Bonnie had her mouth open as if she was going to speak, but decided against it.

Elena smiled softly at Jenna telling her aunt that she would be okay, but Jenna looked like she was going to be sick. Heavy footsteps entered the room and Elena's head to see Damon in all his glory. She noticed that he was wearing the same clothes from the party.

"Hi Jenna," He said softly as his gaze flickered from Elena to her aunt then back to Elena. Jenna took that as a hint, smiled at Damon, then walked out of the room. Damon shoved his hands in his pockets, his eyes locking with Elena's.

She smiled awkwardly. "Hi," Her voice was raspy, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Hey," He whispered as he crossed the room over to her bed. He sat down on the edge and Elena made to move to tell him to get off. "how do you feel?"

For the first time in a long time the sarcasm was gone and Damon really seemed like her best friend again. His face was filled with concern and his eyes red from lack of sleep, bit he was there. He had came to see her.

"Crappy," She muttered as she ran her fingers through her hair, for the first time since she woke up really realizing how horrible she must have looked.

Damon nodded as his hand came out of his pocket to rest on her hospital bed. "Yup," he whispered, popping the p.

"Damon what happened? No one will tell me anything," She took her chance that maybe he would tell her. After all, he was always the one who told her everything. _But that was a long time ago. _She reminded herself as she chewed on her lip.

"Elena your parents car went Wickery Bridge," His face was soft and those blue eyes filled with concern.

"Oh God," She whispered. "my parents.." She met his eyes.

Damon opened his lips to speak again, his mind briefly flashed back to what Jenna had told him when she saw that he was there. That he was there for Elena. She told him that she wanted _him _to tell Elena about what happened. That even though they weren't like they used to be maybe he could handle her after she found out.

"Elena," His voice broke as he ran a hand through his dark, black hair. The words tasted foreign on his tongue. Her whole name did. "Your parents are gone." As he looked at her face, he watched her break, her hands flew to her face and she buried it in the side if her pillow.

"Oh God!" She said again, the tears started streaming down her face.

Damon reached over and took her face in his hands, pulling it so he could see her eyes. "Hey," He whispered "you don't have to hide from me." He wrapped his arms around her body. He buried his face in the crock of her neck as her silent tears turned into sobbing.

"Thank you," She whispered half sobbing half not.

Damon only nodded as she pushed his arms off of her. "Your welcome,"

Elena looked over where Damon sat to see her brother, Jeremy, standing in the doorway. Damon followed her gaze and lifted himself off of the bed and up to his feet. He glanced back at Elena one last time before he walked over to Jeremy. He smiled a little as he walked past him and out of the hospital room.

"They're gone Jer," She whispered as her brother walked into the room.

* * *

She couldn't bring herself to get out of bed. She had already been out of the hospital for three days, pain medication was on a schedule, and she still felt exhausted. She alternated between sleeping and crying, barely eating, only leaving her room to use the restroom.

Elena buried her face in her pillow and huffed. It was the day of her parents funeral and she kept glancing to the black dress that hung on the back of the door. "I miss you," She whispered as she looked over to a picture of she and her parents that sat on her dresser. With those words she pushed the blankets off of her bed and moved to the bathroom to take a shower.

After a shower, she dried off and pulled on a bra and panties. She slid on the black knee length dress and walked over to the mirror to start working on her hair. She grasped a comb and ran it through her wet locks, plugging in the curling iron and hair dyer, she got to work.

It was an hour later when she finished and headed down the stairs. She found her Aunt Jenna standing by the front door with her bother. She smiled a little as she grabbed her brother's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"You look beautiful," Jenna told her softly as she reached over to give her niece a small hug.

"Under normal circumstances, I might actually say thank you," Jenna smiled as she tugged on Elena's hand.

Elena looked around the cemetery, a watery smile grazed on her lips. Her knuckles were turning white because she was gripping Bonnie and Caroline's hands so hard. Bonnie gave her arm a gentle squeeze as Elena turned her head.

Behind her stood Stefan Salvatore.

He smiled softly, "I'm sorry," He whispered and Elena let go of her best friends to give him a hug. His strong arms wrapped around her torso and he leaned over to place a gentle kiss on her cheek. "Elena if you need _anything."_

"Thanks," She said softly as Stefan released her from his arms. "It means a lot." Stefan nodded and started to walk away.

Elena sighed softly as her eyes skimmed over the crowd of people, looking for the familiar face. Nothing. She noticed many kids from her school, friends of her parents. A few teachers and her other family. On both of her parents sides.

She thought about running after to Stefan to see of he had seen Damon, but decided against it. It was a stupid idea, she and Damon weren't friends anymore, they barely talked. When they did, it was normally just to annoy her and get her blood boiling. She shook off the feeling as she glanced over her shoulder at Bonnie and Caroline.

"It's almost time to start," Bonnie whispered as she looked at the mass of people crowded around the caskets of Elena's parents.

She nodded as she took a step in the direction of the mass.

"Elena," Her head turned as did Bonnie and Caroline's. Damon Salvatore stood all dressed in a clad suit and tie. His hair was groomed neatly and his piecing blue eyes showed concern.

"You guys go, I'll be right there," She said to her friends.

"Are you sure?" Caroline questioned, opening her mouth to say something else, but decided against it.

Elena nodded as she turned back to Damon who was then standing directly in front of her. So close that she could see those long dark eye lashes that cast shadows on his cheekbones. Those blue eyes that shone so bright that she could see in the darkness.

"'Lena," He said softly, looking at her expression as he said her old nickname. A smile, she didn't even bother to try and correct him. She practically fell into his arms and every horrible thing that happened since freshman year was erased for that moment.

"Thank you for coming," She whispered into his neck as she glanced up to look in his blue eyes. For that moment it almost felt like summer again.

The next few days passed in a slow blur for the Gilbert's. Jenna was starting to adjust to her new life as Elena and Jeremy 'parent' and Elena was trying to adjust to the thought of losing her parents. Having Jenna there though helped majorly and she even the cool aunt!

The following Monday both Jeremy and Elena went to school and Elena made it her life's mission to keep a watchful eye on her little brother. She knew how hard their parents death had made an impact on him, a negative one and and she hoped it was just a faze. That maybe after time went by he would slowly start to act like Jeremy again, the Jeremy that she was used to. She had to try and be strong for him, no matter how much she was breaking inside herself.

Midway through the day she had only spoken to Bonnie and Caroline a couple of times. She ignored the sympathy looks from all her classmates, all she said when they asked that she was coping.

She had just walked to her locker when she heard a voice behind her.

"Hey," She spun around.

_Damon. _

"Hi," She said softly as she hugged her books to her chest. She noticed that his face was soft and held no sarcasm, but his _friends _weren't around either. He stepped beside her.

"I'm not going to ask how you are, 'cause I know you've been getting that all day," She nodded.

"How did you know?"

"What?" A smirk appeared on his lips. "just because I'm with my friends doesn't mean I can't notice things." Elena rolled her eyes. He was back.

"I'll be okay," She whispered, but he didn't think so. He wasn't sure.

"HEY DAMON!" Damon's head turned to see Tyler Lockwood who stood a few lockers down motioning the raven harried man over to him. Damon's eyes looked back to Elena.

"Go," She said.

"Elena..,"

"I said go," She slammed her locker shut and turned on her heel to go. "I get it." She turned around and walked away.

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**Reviews are love you guys! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for the reviews. Working on a new chapter for Dreams, sorry I haven't been updating, I've on spring break. **

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Elena wasn't sure what got her through the next few days. Somehow she had managed to pull herself out of bed and actually look presentable for school. She kept a close eye on Jeremy and tried to forget about how normal Damon had acted towards her. It was like he was her best friend again and then _boom_, he was back to his cocky self thirty seconds flat. She hadn't spoke to him since the incident at her locker, but he hadn't made a more to speak with her either, always surrounded by his cocky, idiot friends.

It was a week and a half after her parents death and Elena was running around her house trying not be late for school. She shoved the last of her toast into her mouth as she fumbled with tying to shove her books in her backpack. She opened the door with her left hand as she slung her backpack over her shoulder.

Her eyes scanned the driveway, just her luck, no car. Jenna had a meeting with one of her professors and Jeremy had gotten a ride from one of his friends. Jenna had taken Elena's car because her car was in the shop getting an oil change. She thought about calling Bonnie or Caroline, but they were probably almost to the school.

She ran a hand through her hair as she started down her driveway. She noticed the blue convertible that was still parked in the Salvatore's driveway and sighed a little. The front door slammed to her right and she prayed to God that it was Stefan, but no his little red car wasn't home. She turned her head to notice the raven harried man in a black leather jacket and silver Ray Bans.

"Need a ride?" Damon called over to her as he started down his own driveway to stop beside the drivers side if his car. Elena sighed as she made her way across the small strip of grass into his drive. She nodded softly as she opened up the back door and threw her backpack into the backseat.

Damon moved to open her door, but she opened it herself as she moved in front of him. "I got it," She huffed, her voice was dry and she slid into the passenger seat. She kept her eyes glued on the window and pressed her forehead against the glass. She tried to avoid glancing over at Damon as he fiddled with the radio.

The rest of the ride to school was quiet, neither of them spoke as Damon pulled into a parking space. Elena reached to grab her bag out of the backseat and sling it over her shoulder. She opened her door and climbed out of the car. She head Damon's footsteps behind her and she turned on her foot to face him. He stopped walking inches in front of her, so close that their bodies were almost touching.

"Thank you," She said softly.

"It was just a ride to school," His eyebrows wiggled playfully as he bumped his shoulder with hers.

"No," She shook her head. "It wasn't just that, being there for me a couple weeks ago, thank you." She turned on her heel and started to walk away and Damon wasn't sure what to say as he watched her go.

Elena ended up avoiding Damon like the plague for most of the day. They had a couple of classes together, but they sat on opposite sides of the room. When she walked into her history class she noticed a man with sandy brown hair standing at the chalkboard with his back turned away from the rows of decks. The bell rang and she slid into her seat.

"My name is Alaric Saltzman, a mouthful I know. You can call me Mr. Saltzman, you may NOT call me Alaric, Ric or another name that you think you can get by with. I will be taking your pervious history teacher's place,"

Apart from meeting her new history teacher, who seemed nice enough, the rest of her day was nothing out of the ordinary. It passed in a blur and she met up with Caroline and Bonnie at the end of the day, to walk to Bonnie's car.

"Hey," She ran a hand through her hair as she tried to keep up with Caroline's pace.

"I didn't see you this morning, where were you?"

She opened her mouth to answer and then clamped it shut. Caroline's eyebrows rose "Is there something your not telling me?" There it was, the little judge look on her pale face, the one that always made Elena want to cringe.

"You want another ride?" Elena felt the warm breath on her neck and it instantly sent shivers down her spine. She felt a warm color of crimson rise up through her neck and stop at her cheekbones. She spun around, there he was in his cocky glory. His car keys spinning around his pointer finger, a smirk rested on his pale lips and those blue eyes that could see into souls.

Her first instinct was to push him away from her, but his eyes made her heart stop. She finally let her instinct take other and pushed his body away from hers. Damon's satisfied laugh filled her ears and she instantly knew that was what he wanted. Her feet moved like a robot as Caroline pulled her by her arm towards the door. She stopped and pulled her arm out of her friends grasp.

"Elena come on," Caroline was shooting glares, she could feel them trying to penetrate her skin. She ignored her as she turned around to see Damon's muscular body already half way down the other end of the hallway.

"Damon!"

She avoided Caroline's blue orbs and bit the inside of her cheek. If he could be cocky, so could she. Her arms crossed over her chest as the man in the leather jacket spun around on his heel. Even from a distance she noticed his blue eyes, every single speck of blue, like the ocean, as they landed on her. She met his gaze.

"You know what, I think I'll take you up on your offer,"

A smirk grazed her lips as she heard Caroline say her name again behind her. For a moment, she saw the look of shock in Damon's eyes. It hung there for half a second, then disappeared. If she hadn't of known him so well, she wouldn't have noticed. The shock turned into a smirk, which turned into a devious glint.

As she walked out to Damon's car she chewed on her bottom lip. It almost felt bad to leave Caroline in the dust. Damon opened her door for her and she slid into the passenger seat. She smiled softly as she tossed her backpack into the back seat for the second time that day. Her forehead pressed against the passenger side window and she could feel Damon's eyes on her.

"What?" She questioned.

Damon was smiling at her, not a smirk, a real small smile. The ones that reached towards his eyes. The ones that she remembered from him. It was gone in seconds, just after she had a chance to notice it, like he was trying to deny that it was ever there. He reached over and turned the volume up on the radio, she assumed to avoid conversation.

He never answered her question.

"Thanks for the ride," She said as he pulled up to her driveway.

Damon softly nodded. "Your welcome,"

She proceeded to walk up to her front door. Her backpack jiggled as she walked and somehow she felt a tad bit lonely. Jenna was still at work and Jeremy, she had absolutely no idea where he was and it worried her. "Elena?"

She spun around, her eyebrows rose as she looked to the blue eyed man who still sat in front of her driveway. "Hmm?"

"You want to come over? Stefan's not home yet and my parents are probably still at work,"

She chewed her lip.

That was going to me that they would be alone.

"I probably shouldn't," She finally decided.

"You shouldn't or you don't want to? I just don't want you to be alone right now. I know how hard it must be,"

Was she speaking to the same Damon?

"Both,"

She ran her fingers through her hair. Damon nodded. "Okay then, if you change your mind you know where to find me,"

He winked as he backed the car up to pull into his driveway.

She pondered the possibilities of what would happen. For one, she knew Jenna wouldn't care, but on the other hand, Caroline and Bonnie would go nuts and chew her out...okay Caroline would chew her out..for hours. She turned around and headed back up to her front door. Seconds later she had her key in the lock and twisted.

The house seemed empty as she shut the door behind her and threw her bag on the couch in the living room. She grabbed a small bag of chips from the kitchen and headed up to her room.

The first thing she glanced at was her window, the one that looked right at _his._ His curtains were open so she peered straight into the room. A smile grazed her lips as she noticed he was sitting on his own bed. His leather jacket was slung at the foot of it and he was leaning against his head board. It was as if he knew she was looking and he looked at her too. She was determined to force herself to look away, but she found that she didn't want to break the gaze.

She watched him throw his legs over the side of his bed and walk over to the window. For a few seconds she thought that he was going to draw the curtains closed, but instead, he motioned towards himself with his hand.

Elena bit her lip.

Then nodded.

Five minutes later she was walking through the front door of the Salvatore's house. Damon smiled a little as he shut the door behind her. "Hey,"

She avoided his gaze for a moment. "Hey,"

She really wasn't sure what to except as she looked around the living room. The first thing she noticed was that it hadn't really changed much since she had last been there. She smiled softly at the pictures that hung on the wall, pictures of both Salvatore's when they were little.

Everything was still the same.

Everything apart from Damon and her.

It didn't take long for the two of them to be sprawled out on the two couches in the room. Elena was laying on her back, starring at the ceiling as the tv played in the background. Damon was laying on the other couch on his side, his arm propped up under his head.

There were so many questions she was itching to ask; so many things that she wanted to say, but she wasn't sure if she should. She had made a habit of biting her lip lately and she knew she needed to stop. She felt his eyes on her once more; they burned intensely and it made her want to blush, he was starring. "Thank you,"

Damon leaned up so he could see her face. "No seriously, you were right, I didn't need to be alone,"

He wiggled his eyebrows. "Aren't I always,"

Elena rolled her doe eyes and threw the nearest pillow directly at his head. "Shut up!"

Her tone was playful as she easily caught the pillow and threw it back at her. He swung his legs over the couch and shot up like a rocket. "That's it, your gonna get it now!"

"Damon no!" She was behind the couch in a matter of seconds.

With the couch in between them, Elena on one side, Damon on the other, it almost felt like summer again. Laughter echoed through the walls of the house and Elena wasn't focused on anything else. She ducked behind the couch as if it would protect her from his wrath. She giggled slightly as she cupped her hands over her mouth.

"I know your there,"

She peeked over the top of the piece of furniture a grin playing on her lips. She struggled to suppress her girlish giggles as she rose to her feet once more. Her brown eyes scanned the room. Damon was no where in her line of vision so she made her way to the kitchen, half expecting Damon to jump out at her.

She let her guard down as she pressed her stomach up against the kitchen counter. Taking a breather, she closed her eyes. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the sides of the counter. Her teeth bit down on the inside of her lower lip. She felt the muscular arms snake around her waist and the words in her ear. "I got you,"

She savored the feeling of having his arms wrapped around her body and soon enough-to soon, he let her escape. She felt the pumping of her blood rushing through her veins. Her heart was beating twenty five miles per hour as she stood there, holding his gaze. She wasn't sure how to act; what to say.

They stood there for what felt like forever and then he ended up breaking the eye contact. His fingers moved to her stomach and got to work. They moved up and down, round and round as little giggles escaped her lips. She found it hard to breathe as he tickled her.

"Damon!" She squealed between breaths.

"I knew you would still be ticklish,"

Her sides had started to ache and when she finally found the strength to push his hands away from her body, focusing on his face. His expression, his EYES. Her eyes shut once more and he was so close to her- his lips were so close, that she felt his lungs pushing out deep breaths.

"Lena,"

Her eyes popped open. She didn't bother to answer as she moved past him. "Thank you," She said softly. "I did need this."

She was gone out of the front door in the next ten seconds.

What had just happened?

She wasn't sure.

* * *

Damon felt as if he was in a daze as he pushed open the door to the grill. He had tried to forget about the earlier events of what happened with Elena. All he wanted to do was meet up with Tyler and Matt. That's all he _wanted _to focus on.

After Elena had disappeared from his house, Tyler had called him and asked if he would come by THE GRILL. He had put some thought into it and decided to go for it. After he needed to his mind off his life and just have a good time. He spotted Tyler sitting in one of the corner booths and crossed the restaurant to walk over to him.

"Hey man,"

Damon nodded. "Hey,"

He slid into the booth across from him a snuck a look at the drinks on the table. He raised an eyebrow as he picked up the tumbler of scotch and sloshed it back and forth in the glass. His eyes scanned the area quickly before tipping the glass back and drowning it in one shot. He didn't seem to care about the fact that he had no idea how Tyler had managed to get the alcohol; he just excepted the drink with a friendly gesture.

"More?" Tyler questioned as he nodded to the nearly deserted bar.

Damon shook his head. "I'm good,"

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "You? Only drinking one, what are you becoming some sort of saint?"

Damon ignored him.

He left the grill an hour later, his mind was buzzing from the alcohol, he walked into the parking lot, shoving his hands deep into his jacket pockets. He shot a small glance at the ground then when he looked up he noticed that she was standing right in front of him.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

Elena smiled. "I was going to come here to meet Bonnie,"

Damon nodded.

"But she seems to be running a little bit late,"

She stepped closer to him. The next thing he knew was that veins had taken over underneath Elena's eyes and he felt the urge to back away. She bit into her wrist so it flowed sticky, red blood and pointed it towards him. He raised his eyebrows.

"What the-" Her wrist was shoved against him mouth. Her blood was being forced to run down his throat.

"I'm Katherine," She hissed. "and I'll be seeing you soon."

She snapped his neck.

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**Reviews are love. **


	4. Chapter 4

When Damon woke up, he knew he was still in the parking lot of The Grill. He rubbed the back of his neck and rose to his feet. He felt hunger weighing him down and everything felt on edge.

It was probably the alcohol.

He nodded to himself as he made his way across town and to his house. His speed seemed to pick up and his first plan was to go raid the refrigerator as soon as he stepped through the door. His nose caught wind of something sweet and his gums started to ache. He slipped into an alleyway after glancing around at his surroundings.

There was a women and she was clearly bleeding. He watched the blood run down her neck as he stepped towards her. She was leaned up against the wall, her blonde hair fell over her face. "Are you okay?" He asked as he took another step. The women didn't respond as he inched towards her face. He gripped her head with his hand and turned it sideways; his nostrils sniffed the warm blood. Something in his mouth poked through his gums and he was unable to keep himself in control.

His fangs priced her skin and he drank. The blood seemed to taste heavenly and sweet as it danced across his tongue. He wasn't aware that he was drinking so deeply until the women fell limp into his arms. He wiped his hand across his mouth and starred at the body in horror. He laid her on the ground and got out of dodge.

He wasn't sure how he ended up there, but minutes later he found himself standing in front of Elena's house as he was rubbing small circles on his temples. He saw her porch light flick on and a body slip out of the front door in the darkness. "Damon?"

It was Elena. He took a deep breath. "Hey," He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand again just it make sure he had gotten all the blood off of his lips.

"What are you doing here? It's almost one in the morning,"

"I need to talk to you,"

"At one AM? Are you drunk?" She crossed her arms as she paddled barefoot off of the porch and into the damp grass.

"No," He felt on edge again and felt his face. Veins had popped out from underneath his eyes and he turned his face away from her.

"What's going on Damon?"

"I don't know, but I need to find out and you need to not to freak out,okay?" He gripped her shoulders as he led her over to the lighting on the porch.

Elena nodded as she pulled herself down on the porch swing. She watched his face carefully and it changed, his eyes turned into a deep red color, his skin turned veiny. He opened his lips the slightest bit and she noticed two of his front teeth had turned into sharp, jagged points. "Oh my God," She shot up from her seat and started to back away from him.

He was a monster. "Elena no wait!"

"I think I'm going to be sick," She clutched her stomach. "Oh my God." She said again as his face turned back to his human-like form.

"Lena," He whispered.

She met his gaze. "You-I-can't," She sputtered.

"I will not hurt you." His voice seemed so sincere and it was _Damon. _ She'd known him since she was a little kid and she knew that deep down she still trusted him with her life, despite everything that had happened between them.

She seemed to give the slightest nod as she finally walked towards him. "You can't tell anyone," She took at leap of courage and wrapped her arms around his torso. He stood there for a few seconds before lifting his arms and wrapping them around her back. She finally pulled away a little, but not out of his arms. She reached up to grab his face with her fingers, cupping them around his cheeks. "I won't hurt you." He breathed again.

It was in that moment that all his walls came crashing down around him; as he held her in his arms, something told him that they were going to figure that out. That everything was going to be alright. "I know you won't,"

They both went to school that following Monday and it felt like things were beginning to get back to normal. As long as Damon kept a healthy diet of blood he was fine and so far, Elena was the only one that knew. They had spent the weekend researching vampire's and testing between myths and the truth. It felt strange to Elena how she was so calm about the whole situation. Damon had figured out the heightened senses on his own. Everything was clearer, calmer even. His hearing had picked up and his emotions felt as if they were constantly on overdrive.

But he was still Damon.

It was all before first period as Elena was chatting with Bonnie and Caroline beside Bonnie's locker. "I can't believe you let him give you a ride. Elena come on, what is going on with you?" The blonde threw her hands in the air as Elena simply rolled her eyes. "It's Damon."

"Yes it is, your point?"

"After everything he's done to you since Freshman year, everything he's put you through and-I'm just trying to look out for you, okay 'Lena,"

She flinched. "Don't call me that,"

She glanced over Caroline's shoulder to see a raven harried man peeking out from behind a corner he was pointing his finger at her and then made a 'come here' motion. She nodded just gently, but turned to her friends as the bell rang. "I'm going to run to the restroom, cover for me?" She knew very well Damon had heard her as she slipped out of the hallway and into he girls bathroom. Moments later the door opened again and Damon had her pulled into the largest stall at the end, locking the door behind them.

She met his gaze. "What's wrong?"

"I need to feed, which means I need you to help me get out of here without me losing control," Elena nodded as she pulled him out of the bathroom stall and then out of the bathroom. They walked down the hall at a swift pace just so she could catch up to him.

She stopped walking after a moment. "Feed from me,"

Damon turned on his heel. "Not going to happen, now come on," He pulled on her wrist.

"Now come on don't you know it's rude to turn down a women," Both of them turned around and Elena found herself looking at a mirror image of herself.

"Oh God," Her jaw dropped.

"My my, now you _do _ look like me don't you. We haven't officially met, I'm Katherine," She strutted up to Elena and placed her index finger under her chin so Elena met her gaze. "Calm down, I can hear your heart from here. I'm not going to hurt you, yet."

"Why do I look like you?"

"Honestly. I have no idea," A devious smile graced her lips as she moved her finger and turned to look at Damon. "I did do well with you." She ran her same index finger down the middle of his chest as she leaned near his ear.

"I see you got the ring," She leaned away and pointed to his middle finger. With a wink of her eye she was gone in seconds, leaving Damon and Elena alone in the hallway. It took a few moments for Elena to catch her breath and slow down her heart rate, but once she did she turned to Damon.

"We can go,"

"You okay?" He was in front of her in less then a second; his blue eyes were filled with concern and compassion. His teeth bit down on his lower lip as he racked his hands through her long, brown locks. Their faces were so close that their noses were nearly touching. If that wasn't enough he heard the sound of her heart rate pick up speed again, so he backed away.

"I'll be fine," She said as she finally mustered up the will to speak again. She grasped his arm and pulled him towards the parking lot. "besides, it's not me that I'm worried about, it's you. You're the starving vampire here." A light grin painted her lips as the reached his car.

"I wouldn't call it starving perhaps, but.." His eyes twinkled with light as he climbed into the drivers side and started the car. "close enough."

"So where are we headed?"

"Anywhere where we can't be seen. Preferably away from Mystic Falls, somewhere, where the sheriff can't track this back to me," He took his eyes off the road for a mere second. "You didn't have to come you know. All I needed you to do was help me get to the car."

"It's fine. I needed to get out if there anyways, just for the day, you know?"

"Elena Gilbert cutting class, never thought I'd see the day,"

Her only response was a roll of her eyes.

"Do you need me to go with you?" Elena asked about an hour or so later as Damon parked the car in front of a small alleyway. She chewed on her bottom lip a little as she watched him kill the engine.

"You can unless you don't want to watch me suck the blood out of someone's veins, but hey if you want to I won't complain," He wiggled his eyebrows as he tossed her his car keys.

"I think I'll pass," She tossed his keys back and forth between her hands and he climbed out of the car. She assumed that It wouldn't take Damon very long to 'feed, and erase' as he called it; the method of pericing a neck with his fangs, drinking, and then compelling the person to forget. She opened the car door as she pocketed Damon's car keys. She needed a little stretch after being in the car for almost an hour and a half.

She shut her eyes and leaned back against the passenger side. "Katherine,"

Her doe eyes opened as she found herself starring at a gruff looking man. Just from a small glance at his outwards appearance she could tell that he was willing to hurt her. She bit back a small whimper as the man strutted closer to her. "I've been looking for you for quite sometime sweetheart," He reached for her and her instinct in to scream her head off, for someone, anyone, for Damon, but in that case she knew that it would just make it worse.

"I'm not Katherine," She croaked as she tried to keep her voice from wavering.

"Don't lie to me!" In one swift motion he had her neck pinned against the side of the vehicle. She tried to squirm out of his grasp, but to to avail, his grip on her neck only tightened. For a moment she thought that he was going to let her go, he let his grip loosen for a mere second as he slammed her body back against the car again "Now Katherine, tell me the truth." His lips surfaced near her ear.

"I am not Katherine," She whispered as the man's fingers turned her neck purple. His nails dug into her skin and she felt them drawing the blood from underneath her skin.

"Fight back!" He hissed as a trickle of blood ran down the side of her neck. His tongue touched the trail and she whimpered softly.

"Damon," His name rolled off her lips and the man's fist connected with her cheekbone. The stinging sensation began and knew that it was bound to leave some sort of bruise, one that was purple with skin discoloration around the edge. What felt like an eternity later, the man was suddenly whisked away from her and she had a chance to regain her breath. She tasted blood in her mouth before it rose to the surface, she had no choice, but to swallow it out of fear that they man was going to smell it and attack her again.

What was expected to be a loosing battle for Damon between the unnamed man and him. The man was on top of the newly turned vampire and was throwing punches. "You will not beat me," He hissed as Damon suffered another blow at the man's hands. "You're new and not near as strong." After a moment or two Damon's fingers fumbled as he reached for a stick to jam into the elder vampire's heart.

"Don't touch her!" Damon raged as his eyes flickered to the blood that had begun to dry and the bump on her cheek. His inner rage overpowered him and he caught the man off guard for a moment before taking the stick in his hands. He plunged it into the man's beating heart. He rolled off the man, ignoring his own injuries, he moved to Elena's.

"No," She shook her head as she looked away. "I'm fine."

His face hovered over her's as he took her head between his hands. "No you're not, you're hurt." He ran his thumb over her cheek, causing her to wince and quickly pull away from 'him. His blue eyes fluttered with concern as pressed a kiss to her hairline. Gripping her face again, he held her at arms length, his eyes skimmed over her body to check for other injuries. "It's okay." He said softly as she suddenly buried her face into his shoulder. His hand rested on the back of her head as his other arm encircled her waist.

It wasn't long before the sobs started racking through her small body and it broke him in two, to hear her like that. The tears had started to soak his shoulder and most of them rolled off of the sleeve of his leather jacket. His blue eyes closed as he leaned his nose into her hair. "It's going to be alright Elena, he's gone now,"

Her head moved, "Thank you," The words were somewhere between a muffled sob and a hint of a smile. Even still, she buried her head further into him.

"You are safe with me," His words were comforting. "You always will be. I will never let anything happen to you."

"I know," Her head finally lifted and he ran his thumbs underneath her eyes to wipe away any excess tears. Her wet lashes were clumped together and her brown eyes shone over with liquid that still wanted it spill over those eyes. Unsure if her legs would work to get her back I to the car, Elena clung onto Damon like a life support. Damon seemed to notice it too as he lifted her into his arms and carried her back to the car, ready to deposit her into the passenger seat. He shut her car door with a comforting smile as he looked down at his feet to the body of the now dead vampire. His gaze switched from the vampire, to Elena and then back to the vampire. He lifted the body up on his shoulders and stalked over to the trunk to lay the body inside. With a slam he closed the truck and made his way over to the drivers side of the car before climbing inside.

He focused on Elena, who was starring out the side window, her eyes fixed on where the vampire had been. "You hungry?"

She shook her head. "Not really,"

Her stomach growled. "That's it, we're are getting you food," He jammed the keys into their hole and started the car. He kept his eyes on the road as he drove and tried not to glance over at the injured girl in the passenger seat. He didn't want to show her that he was truly that concerned about her, she might of gotten the wrong idea.

About ten minutes later he pulled up in front of a small diner and Damon killed the engine. He loomed at Elena, who spoke up "I can't go in there like this," She told him as she pointed to the bruise and the dried blood.

"Well lucky for you, I have this," He reached behind his seat and pulled out a first aid kit. He laid it in his lap and popped open the lid. "Lean over here." Elena shifted in her seat and leaned her face over the console. Damon reached into the kit and brought out a band aid and hydrogen peroxide; he swiped some on a cotton ball and pressed it to the strip of blood on her neck. His fingers danced on the small marks on her neck from where the vampire's hands had been. They traced the marks carefully and his touch was soothing.

"Thank you," Elena told him as he placed a band aid over the nail marks on her neck. He ran his thumb over the bruise on her cheekbone one last time and pressed his lips to the side of her head. She tried to keep down the blush that tried to form as he pulled away and opened his drivers side door.

The diner was one of those small classic ones; which the red colored stools and shiny colored counter tops. The two of them walked to a booth in the back and slid in across from each other. Their food and drinks were taken by a small petite women wearing black slacks and a puke colored yellow shirt. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun and she wore rose colored lipstick.

Elena reached over and touched the side of Damon's cheek with her fingertips. "I saw the cut on your head," She ran her fingers over the side of his head down to his cheekbone and tried to hold back shivers as their skin made contact.

"Relax, I'm fine. Vampire remember, healing powers," A small smirk painted his lips.

"Sorry," She whispered. "I forgot, maybe it's the fact that I've known to since I was born," Her hand moved back into her lap and she avoided his eyes.

"'Lena," It caught her attention as she looked up.

"Hmm?"

"It's fine," He offered her a smile as he reached underneath the table to grasp her hand in his. It caught her a little off guard, but she made no motion to pull away.

* * *

By the time they arrived back in Mystic Falls it was nearly six thirty at night. As Damon pulled up in front of Elena's driveway he glanced over at her sleeping figure in the passenger seat. He shook his head softly as he sped out of the car and over to the passenger side. He placed one arm under Elena's knees and the other behind her back. He didn't bother to shut the door as he walked around the back of the house to where he knew her room was. He glanced behind him to his own bedroom window and thought about depositing her in his bed, but decided against it.

It took him a few moments, but he had finally landed on her window ledge and somehow unlocked the window to slip inside. He stepped over the edge (which included the window seat) and into the middle of her room. He was carefully not to wake her as he untied her converse and slipped them off of her feet. He pulled the blankets over her and glanced around the room.

In all honestly, everything still seemed to be the same. The only difference was instead of pictures of the two of them, or she and Stefan, they were replaced with pictures of her friends. The one that jumped out at him though was in a small frame on the edge of her nightstand, and he recognized the little girl's face in the picture instantly. Her two front teeth were poking through the gums and she was smiling. Her brown hair was pulled into a neat pony tail and she wore a pair of grass stained blue jeans. Her tee shirt was neon orange with little bits of white flowers on the side. Her doe brown eyes were like chocolate and they glowed as she hugged the little boy next to her.

That boy, the one with the shaggy raven colored locks and those bright, blue eyes, also wore a pair of grass stained jeans as well as a tad bit of mud. His gray shirt made his skin look paler then normal. He seemed to be a little taller than the girl, but not by much. His feet were bare as the two of them looked to the camera in front of them.

Damon looked at Elena who was sleeping peacefully in her bed and his lips tugged upwards. He leaned over her face to brush a piece of hair out of her eyes and pressed his lips to the crown of her head. "Goodnight Elena," As he heard the doorknob turn, he pulled back and with a whoosh of air, he was gone.

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**A/N: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! They keep this story going so keep on reviewing please!**


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